Futurewood and Exeloo: Making Public Toilets Look
Futurewood batten cladding in Walnut was chosen for public toilets in Franz Joseph to create a rustic, geometric design that is sympathetic to the region's natural beauty.
The Westland District Council applied for special funding from central government and accessed a grant from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF) to support the development of an upgrade to the public toilets in Franz Joseph. The TIF was created to support smaller rural communities that have been impacted by the huge growth in tourism in New Zealand to develop community infrastructure assets to cope with the effects of visitor pressure and freedom camping.
The Exeloo Jupiter model was selected to replace ageing public toilets in Franz Joseph main street. Exeloo design support was instrumental in providing a range of options that enabled the council to make styling and other design decisions. The design that captured the council's attention included a Futurewood batten cladding aesthetic in Walnut colour that created a rustic yet geometric design that was sympathetic to the region's natural beauty.
The building was scoped to include a shelter section where the public could wait for bus and coach connections out of the weather. A key issue for public toilets is security. Exeloo designs focus on solutions that do away with screens and blind spots that can create havens for those with anti-social intentions. The Futurewood batten profile (60 x 40mm) was selected to provide a sheltered element and still allowed sight lines that ensured users can scan the interior on approach.
The overall effect was a success and has since been duplicated for a new installation in Haast.